Sparked

From Classroom to Courtroom: How a Serendipitous Call Sparked Amy O’Connell’s Journey to Becoming a Top Lawyer

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STONY BROOK, N.Y. – The journey to a career in law often follows a path defined by years of planned education and internships, but for Amy O’Connell, general counsel at Roux Associates, it was an unexpected phone call that rerouted her career aspirations from secondary education to the courtroom. O’Connell was firmly on the path to becoming an educator while attending Stony Brook University. Her academic successes there suggested a promising future in teaching. However, her trajectory changed following an intriguing conversation with a former classmate’s mother, a practicing lawyer. This conversation ignited a curiosity … Read more

Iranian Lawyer Detained After Challenging Government’s Response to Protests Sparked by Mahsa Amini’s Death

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Tehran, Iran — Mohsen Borhani, a well-known Iranian lawyer and academic, has been arrested following his public critique of the government’s handling of widespread protests in 2022, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. Amini died in police custody after being detained for purportedly not adhering to the country’s strict hijab regulations, igniting calls for reform against Iran’s longstanding clerical regime. These events led to a global outcry, with a United Nations fact-finding mission determining Amini’s death to be unwarranted and violent, further noting her passing led to significant human rights abuses during the … Read more